What is bisexuality?

What is pansexuality?

Pansexuality is the attraction to people based on personality rather than attraction based on people’s genitals.

What is polysexuailty?

Monosexuality is the attraction to just one gender. Monosexism includes gay and straight while polysexuality, poly meaning many, is anything outside of gay and straight.

What does queer mean?

Queer used to be most commonly used as derogatory term for someone who is gay. Now it is being taken back as an identity for people who are gay, bisexual+, or do not fit within the gender binary.

What is biphobia?

Biphobia is the fear and hate of bisexuals. Examples of biphobia include:

Insisting bisexuals don’t exist, are greedy, are promiscuous, are confused, or are going through a phase.

Being more afraid that a bisexual partner would cheat on you than any other partner.

Fetishizing someone’s bisexuality.

Believing bisexuals+ have no place in the LGBT community.

One big misconception about biphobia is that only straight people can be biphobic. Actually, some of the worst biphobia comes from within the LGBT community, especially from gays and lesbians.

What is bierasure?

Bisexual+ erasure is the act of excluding, ignoring, or erasing the bisexual community. Some forms of bisexual erasure include:

Leaving the B out of LGBT discussions even though bisexuals make up over half of the LGBT community.

Bisexual characters on TV refusing to use the label bisexual.

People saying bisexuals don’t exist.

Bierasure makes bi+ acceptance harder to obtain, leaves bisexuals without positive representation, and makes support for bisexuals harder to find.

Why should I care about bisexual issues?

Bisexuals face serious issues. Bisexuals are more likely than both straight and gay people to experience:

A greater wage gap

Health problems

Domestic violence

Rape

Bullying

Poverty

Being unable to come out without severe repercussions
Why should you care? Because no one's life should be worse just because their gender identity or sexual orientation.

Am I bisexual?

If you have been attracted to people of more than one gender then you are bisexual. Keep in mind that this attraction can be romantic, sexual, emotional, sensual, intellectual, or aesthetic. You also can be attracted to two or more genders in different degrees; attraction does not have to be equal.

I call myself bisexual because I acknowledge that I have in myself the potential to be attracted – romantically and/or sexually – to people of more than one sex and/or gender, not necessarily at the same time, not necessarily in the same way, and not necessarily to the same degree.

-Robyn Ochs

What do you mean by genders different than my own?

Gender is not a binary, meaning there aren’t only two options of men and women. Some people identify as neither male or female while some people identify as both. Basically, what genitals you have don’t have to identify who you are as a person.

Where can I find bisexual support?

If you are in the US here is a map of bisexual groups check out this map.

Facebook and Meetup are also great resources. If there isn’t a bisexual support/ social group in your area start one! We can help. Just email us at PAVESnonprofit@gmail.com.

What does bisexual+ mean?

Bisexual+ encompasses all sexual orientations that are outside gay and straight.

What does biromantic mean?

Bisexual is about sexual attraction while biromantic is about romantic attraction. Biromantics experience romantic attraction to more than one gender.